A consumer psychologist has revealed some of the bizarre ways that supermarkets convince their shoppers to buy more.
Everything from the way the shop is laid out to how bright it is, the music playing and what it smells like have a part to play.
Dr Cathrine Jansson-Boyd has said these factors are carefully thought out to ensure the customer spends as long as possible browsing and buying. She explained that the layout of supermarkets "trap" people, hoping they'll buy more things.
READ MORE: Money experts reveal lesser-known way to have your NCT done free-of-charge
Breaking this down, she said: "It's no fluke that you have to walk up and down long aisles in the supermarket.
“They do that to make sure that you're trapped, because the more time you spend in an aisle, the more likely you are to pick up things along the way that you wouldn't otherwise buy if you could whisk through the shop in any direction."
She then said that the placement of products on the shelves can influence the amount you spend, and many stores point shoppers in the direction of more expensive items and place them at a convenient height on the shelves.
Jansson-Boyd says pricier branded items will be at eye level, while cheaper options are towards the floor, reports The Mirror.
She also says that supermarkets will move their stock around every six months to a year to prevent customers from becoming too comfortable with the layout of the store, which means shoppers will need to walk around for a longer period to find what they need rather than just heading straight for the aisle they'd usually expect the item in.
"They tend to move things around. If you go to a supermarket regularly, there will come a point where you'll walk in and you're like, 'hang on a minute, I knew the bread was down here...' but it's not there.
"It's not to frustrate customers, because of course, they want people to be happy, it's to ensure you have to walk around looking and you'll pick up more things along the way. There's a real relationship between the length of time spent in a supermarket and number of products purchased."
Another trick supermarkets use is their soundtrack, which particularly comes into play in the build up to Christmas, and festive music makes the shopping experience more cheerful. They also utilise artificial scents such as the smell of fresh bread around the bakery.
The latter is the most "traditional trick of all", Dr. Jannson-Boyd says, before adding how it evokes a feeling of nostalgia for many of us.
"It's so often an artificial scent because it doesn't smell in the bakery as often the bread is pre-manufactured but they still pump out a smell of fresh bread, as shoppers have childhood associations with the smell.
"It's homely, it's nice and it's fresh. You want to believe that everything in the store is made from scratch and is amazing, but of course, it isn't. However, we sniff it and we're quite easily duped, we buy into it and we think it's all very fresh."
READ NEXT:
Woman knifed to death in horror bloodbath at Dublin apartment as man tells gardai 'I did it'
Met Eireann warns of -5C temperature plunge amid ice warning before welcome change
The exact date pints increase in price as many say the same thing about 'greedy' move
WHO advises of six scenarios where masks should be worn in Covid guideline update
Elderly woman hit with home energy bill of nearly €8,000 a month
Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter
